In-form O'Hara leads chase for £2,324 prize at Dumfries and Galloway

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Man in form Paul O'Hara is the halfway leader of the £14,530 Kerr Investments Order of Merit 36-hole pro-am at Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club.

Winner of the Scottish young professionals' championship earlier this week, for the third time in the past four years, O'Hara (pictured) shot a bogey-free, six-under par 64 to lead by one from Alastair Forsyth, Jason McCreadie, Graham Fox and Graeme Brown.
Greig Hutcheon, always to the fore when there's big money at stake - first prize is £2,324 -  shot a 66 to be sixth overnight.
O'Hara birdied the first, long fifth, short eighth, ninth, short 15th and 17th in halves of 32.
Forsyth bogeyed the 18th or else he would have been sharing the lead. 
McCreadie had a bogey-free round but parred the last two holes when a sixth birdie would have given him a share of the lead.]
Brown had a double bogey 6 at the 10th but responded with birdies at the 14th, 16th and 17th.
Fox's four birdies stopped at the 14th and he parred in.

FIRST-ROUND SCORES
par 70
64 P O'Hara (North Lanarkshire Leisure)
65 A Forsyth (Mearns Castle), J McCreadie (Largs), G Fox (Clydeway Golf), G Brown (Montrose Links)
66 G Hutcheon (PLGC Inchmarlo)
67 P Robinson (Largs), M Hillson (Kilconquhar Castle)
68 C Gordon (Edinburgh GC), C Marr (Musselburgh), P McKechnie (Braid Hills), G McBain (Newmachar), C Currie (Caldwell), R Arnott (Bishopbriggs), J Lomas (Ayr Caprington).
69 J Fraser (Renaissance), S Binning (Mearns Castle), S Henderson (Kings Links)
70 S Taylor (Bothwell Castle), C McMaster (Wellsgreen), N Huguet (Musselburgh), G Forbes (Mar Hall), P Wardell (North Berwick)
71 R Murdoch (Dumfries and Galloway), R Tinker (Piperdam), R Neill (Drumpellier)
72 G McDougall (Elie Links), I Anderson (Colville Park), R Munro (Duddingston), C Kelly (Taymouth Castle), G Hay (Grantown on Spey), L Gaughan (Bathgate), R Cameron (Saltire Castle), M Kerr (Dalmahoy), J Brown (Dumfries and Co).
73 C Adam (unatt), A Waugh (Clydebank and Dist), G Paxton (Ralston), G Law (Uphall), C Billow (Gleneagles), D Orr (Eastwood).
74 D-R Nicol (Dundonald Links), S Gray (Lanark), S Maxwell (Eastwood).
75 J McGhee (Whitehill House), C Ronald (Carluke)
76 C Fountain (unatt), K McNicoll (Gullane).
78 J Erskine (Dumfries and Co), G Wright (West Linton).